Coronavirus and the effect it has had on the courts
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a whirlwind among the courts for family law practitioners and families alike. With regard to families, parents have had to navigate through suddenly homeschooling their kids, restless households, and determining whether to uphold court ordered time-sharing schedules or keeping their children in place.
Complicating the issue further is whether government issued shelter-in-place orders would excuse parents' non-compliance with existing time-sharing orders. This has resulted in the courts being inundated with emergency motions filed by parents who are either trying to see their children or keep their children from the other parent.
One additional layer of complexity to all of this is the fact that courts do not consider issues of visitation appropriate for emergency motions. Prior to the pandemic, courts would routinely deny emergency motions filed by parents who were having disputes regarding visitation. This is because emergency motions are typically reserved for cases involving abuse, neglect, or imminent harm to the child. Courts however, have had to consider whether the pandemic would rise to the level of being considered an emergency.
Shortly after Governor Desantis issued his executive order mandating that residents shelter-in-place, county courthouses have issued temporary administrative orders. These administrative orders were intended to provide guidance to both practitioners and parents during this pandemic. It would appear that the intention of these administrative orders would be to urge these parents to put their differences aside and think about the children's best interests. However, that is often a very difficult task for some parents.
If you are in a situation where your former spouse or partner is using the coronavirus as a weapon against you and your child, or you sincerely believe that you should have majority time-sharing with your child during this pandemic, call my office to discuss your options. Attached are the administrative orders in Miami-Dade County and Broward County regarding the pandemic.
Complicating the issue further is whether government issued shelter-in-place orders would excuse parents' non-compliance with existing time-sharing orders. This has resulted in the courts being inundated with emergency motions filed by parents who are either trying to see their children or keep their children from the other parent.
One additional layer of complexity to all of this is the fact that courts do not consider issues of visitation appropriate for emergency motions. Prior to the pandemic, courts would routinely deny emergency motions filed by parents who were having disputes regarding visitation. This is because emergency motions are typically reserved for cases involving abuse, neglect, or imminent harm to the child. Courts however, have had to consider whether the pandemic would rise to the level of being considered an emergency.
Shortly after Governor Desantis issued his executive order mandating that residents shelter-in-place, county courthouses have issued temporary administrative orders. These administrative orders were intended to provide guidance to both practitioners and parents during this pandemic. It would appear that the intention of these administrative orders would be to urge these parents to put their differences aside and think about the children's best interests. However, that is often a very difficult task for some parents.
If you are in a situation where your former spouse or partner is using the coronavirus as a weapon against you and your child, or you sincerely believe that you should have majority time-sharing with your child during this pandemic, call my office to discuss your options. Attached are the administrative orders in Miami-Dade County and Broward County regarding the pandemic.
Miami Family Law Temporary Administrative Order Concerning Coronavirus
| 1-20-06_a1_amending_parenting_procedures_in_the_family_division_and_unified_children_court_during_covid-19-conformed.pdf |
Broward Family Law Temporary Administrative Order Concerning Coronavirus
| 2020-30-temp.pdf |
